Manmohan embarks on Afghan mission

Singh will also be trying to gain sway with ethnic groups, especially Pashtuns, contesting September's landmark parliamentary elections which remnants of the ousted hardline Taliban Islamist regime have vowed to disrupt, they said.

India, one of the six top donors to Afghanistan, has pledged 500 million dollars in aid to Kabul since 2002 and Singh would unveil fresh assistance of 50 million dollars during the visit, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran announced Friday.

"The fresh assistance would be on small developmental projects benefitting grassroot levels and this would help in the reconstruction of the country," he told a press conference.

"Although we are involved in major projects in the infrastructure sector we felt the time has come to shift focus to the local community level."